Macho and responsibilities do not go well folks.

RENO

I opened my eyes when I heard rustling around me .

The sun had began to go down, casting a reddish glow on the trees and the small river by which I lay . 

Shit , I had been here for a long time .

I sat up and realized I was naked .

Bigger shit , I mentally face palmed, Could this get any worse ?

My parents were probably worried sick with how I had suddenly run out on them during breakfast which was something I had never done.

I was usually very meticulous when I changed .

Either I had clothes stashed in the woods or I carefully took off my clothes before changing but this time , I had just burst and turned my clothes into mere strips .

I heard the rustling again and raised my head to sniff the air , a familiar smell , I waited for him to reach me .

He stopped behind a tree .

" I brought you clothes , are they needed ? ", Rio yelled .

I jumped back, startled by his sudden yelling .

" Geez , keep it together, okay ? Yes, throw them to me ", I told him .

He did as I had said and threw the clothes at me and remained behind the tree.

New sweats but they were larger , his clothes.

" I did not want to go into your room when you were not home ", he told me quietly .

My room .

My safe haven , it wouldn't be mine very soon .

" I did not ask ", I replied gruffly .

" Besides , it won't be my room for much longer ", I added spitefully .

Rio came out from behind the trees , his face was drawn and anguished .

" Reno , I...", he started before I cut him off by lifting my hand In the air .

" Quit looking like a slob ", I told him dismissively.

He nodded and zipped his mouth shut .

" Did they freak out when I left ?", I asked tentatively .

I had been childish , what soon to be Alpha ran out on breakfast because her father said no to pranks ?

" I have a feeling that mum is barely containing it , she really hates Herrera senior", he said and walked closer .

" Like I said , say the word and you won't be marrying Herrera junior ", he professed with conviction .

His eyes blazed , the green of them igniting like sleeping embers .

I smiled and hugged him .

Hugging him took some strength and also made me realize just how hungry I was .

I had not eaten breakfast or lunch and still changed forms and ran for hours , yeah, not a very good idea .

" Race you to the Packs house", I yelled as I ended the hug and took a running start .

I heard my brother curse loudly at me but I was already far away and just laughed it off .

As I ran , the trees moved past me in a flash , appearing and disappearing as I swallowed the miles .

I could feel the energy of my food reserves burn as I ran through what would have taken an average human hours to do and an average wolf about forty minutes.

When I reached the end of the tree trail , Rio was there already laughing his ass off .

I scoffed and tried to kick him but he dodged and ran through our border .

" Did you get your sister ? ", Mum mind linked me .

I turned around and Rio's eyes were pretty normal , no haze to it , so mum had done it .

She was always doing it , mind linking me instead of Rio or Rio instead of me and she always denied it .

Since mind links did not exactly leave prints , we could never show her proof .

" It's me mum and yes, Rio got me. We are almost home , please tell me there's something to eat ?", I asked hopefully .

Living in a house filled with wolves made sure there was never any food left in the reserves .

It also taught you to never leave your food lying around in places like the refrigerator or cupboards .

" I'll make chicken sandwiches for you and your brother ", She responded after a minute .

She had probably used that minute to go through what ingredients were left in the kitchen .

She ended the mind link and my eyes cleared , Rio was standing in front of me with his hair messed up , probably from the wind .

I lifted my hand to run it through his hair and straighten it .

He rolled his eyes .

" You have to stop doing that Reno. It's quite irreverent of an Alpha to get his hair arranged publicly by his sister ", Rio grumbled quietly .

I was going to reply him but changed my mind when he also lifted his hand to arrange my hair .

I opted for a slight nod and a vague ," Hmmm".

" Your room...", he started softly .

I raised up my head to look at him .

" What about my room ? ", I asked sharply .

Yeah , I was definitely still prickly about leaving my room forever .

" It will always be yours ", he stated offhandedly .

I blinked and grinned after .

" I am very sure one of those nosy women will bring a complaint of there being an empty room in the pack house and one that is that big ", I told him the reality .

My brother instead levelled me with the famed Alpha stare , I stood my ground as we got locked in a staring contest .

Rio's stare had become more powerful , was it because his wolf knew he was close to becoming Alpha ?

' Come on girl ', I called out to Blackie .

She ignored me , I deserved that .

' Come on girl , you can't seriously still be mad at me ', I pleaded.

I could not lose this staring competition , if I did , I was just proving that I deserved to be sent to Gray Moon and be married off to Herrera junior .

If I lost , I was proving that I was not worthy of being Alpha .

If I lost , I was disgracing every female Alpha wolf in the ....

' I see you're still a tacky overthinker ' , a lazy voice echoed within me .

" Blackie !!! ", I yelled out , losing concentration and also losing the staring competition .

" She's back to talking to you ? ", Rio called out loudly , he was just as excited as I was and would hopefully forget that I had lost the match .

I nodded vigorously .

" She's being cranky but she's talking , that counts ", I told him .

The expression on Rio's face changed abruptly .

" You still have not told me why she stopped talking to you in the first place ", he observed quietly .

I looked around , caught off guard , we didn't normally keep things from each other .

" Yeah , you didn't tell me who Ollie has feelings for so we are equal ", I said as I patted his shoulder and continued walking .

The staring competition had taken the last of my strength .

" That's not fair ", Rio called out after me .

" You can't compare Ollie's love life with your wolf going cold turkey on you for days ", He added .

I turned around and made finger hearts ," Love trumps all ".

He made a barf face and bent to check his phone , also reminding me that I had not seen my phone the whole day .

I tried to think back to everything that I had done today to remember when last I had my phone .

I was still thinking when we arrived at the Pack house through the back door to avoid meeting several people .

We beelined for the kitchen where mum sat on one of the stools , her glasses were perched atop her nose and she was swamped with papers. 

She raised her head , took one look at us and pointed at a transparent plastic container that was filled with sandwiches .

I went to the container while Rio went to the fridge and got out the milk , he brought two tall glasses with him and settled next to the stool I had prepared for him .

We ate in silence .

Just as I drank my last drops of milk , Mum dropped the papers she was holding and took off her glasses .

She was looking at me .

" Did the run make you feel better ?", She asked softly , her already large blue eyes somehow managing to look larger .

I nodded .

She stood up and walked to where I sat down , she took my hands in hers .

" Baby , I might be an Alpha that wants the best for my pack but first , I am your Mum . If you think you can't handle being at Gray moon or being a partner to that fiend , Herrera, then just say the word and I will rip out as many hearts that are opposed to you ", She ended her statement by showing me her fangs .

" Your father feels the same ", She added cheerfully , her fangs dissapeared.

" What kind of Alpha would I be if I could not even handle those Gray moon assholes ? And you can't go around calling your future son-in-law a fiend mum , that's just wrong ", I grinned as I told her , showing her my beautiful fangs too .

Mama laughed with me , we only stopped when Rio cleared his throat .

" If you've decided to be with Herrera, Don't you think it would be a good idea to not refer to his pack and your future pack as Assholes ?", He inquired like he was impacting some high strain of intelligence .

I thought about it for a second and the strain of intelligence tried to adapt but at the last moment, it fell off .

" Yeah , I will refer to my Pack as however I want to refer to them ", I declared loudly .

Mum and I high-fived .

Mum's face relaxed and her expression became serious again , she picked up her glasses and perched it again .

" Now my darling Fuentes , go pack for your trip to Crimson ", She announced excitedly .

I paled , what was the fun in going if Kane was an Alpha now?

I hadn't seen him for almost two years , I was either busy or he was busy .

There was no fun in going to the meetings but I would still have to go when I became Alpha of Gray moon , I might as well begin to make good relationships now .

Besides , mum was only excited because she got to spend time with Kane's mum , they had been college roommates and best friends and were still as goofy as ever .

I turned and headed up the stairs that led to the second floor where my room was located .

" Reno darling ?",Mum called and I turned around.

She was smiling really weird .

" How about less sweats and I'm too macho for this world clothes and more nice looking gowns and actual make up ?", she suggested slyly .

" Why would I want to abandon my Macho clothes and my multipurpose sweats for itchy makeup ?", I asked confused.

" Baby , no one is going to think much of an alpha in sweats and the macho clothes would just look like you are trying too hard ", She stated and bent to continue her work .

Ahhhh , the Responsibility card.

It struck well because I was suddenly staring at my sweats and my favorite macho furlined Jacket with disdain as I packed .